Friday, 19 May 2006

Hay-on-Wye weekend

We came back on Monday from being away since last Friday in Hay on Wye. It was wonderful! actually I felt more rested after 4 days in Hay than I did after a week in Scotland, but that was to do with the in laws, and another story entirely!

We stayed at the Red Lion Hotel at Bredwardine, which is just over the border into Herefordshire. A lovely 17th Century hotel, set in the country, serving lovely food, we had Gammon on the first night and the meal was delicious! The hotel also provided fishing on the River Wye to residents, so Stuart spent Saturday wading and fishing the Wye, even during the horrid downpour of rain and thunder, whilst I was in Hay at the bookshops. Alas, didn't catch anything, although he does assure me that he almost did.

I spent a lovely day in Hay, meeting with four of the Birmingham Book Crossers, Gill, Liz, Ali & Fritzi, meeting at 11am at Kilverts for a coffee, before starting the mammoth task of visiting the bookshops. The tourist information centre produce a small paper tifolding sheet of bookshops, and there are 30 bookshops in Hay, 3 auctions & bookbinders and 4 bookshops near Hay.Together we did about 4 bookshops, although the girls carried on after I left them at 5pm and I did another one, (a biggie) on Sunday and the rest on Monday with Stuart.

I resolved myself that even though I have enough books in the house to read for the next 20 years, exlcuding all the book rings that arrive, I would still buy more books. Its compulsive, but there are more unhealthy addictions! Despite, every bookshop bursting to the seems with books, on shelves, stairs, on the floor, I did actually only buy 8 books. This was because there were so many to choose from. Here are my 8: The Castle BookshopThe Love Letter by Cathleen Schine - 30pMore than a year in time by Jane Lassen - 50pStitches in Times by Barbara Michael - 50pThe Genealogists Guide by Geoffrey B Berrow - 50pSocial Register Boston (USA) 1968 by the Social Reg Association - 50p

The Castle Bookshop was wonderful - set in the grounds of Hay Castle, this is a rather novel (no pun intended!) way of displaying some books, which have a fairly small value, but are a super way of using the space. The bookshelves are in the open, well most of them. If you climb the steps to the actual bookshop, there are about 10 bookcases all with open access, but with overhead cover. The open access bookshelves are open round the clock, and there is an honesty box to pay for purchases.

On Saturday evening we ate at the Pandy Inn at Dorstone. Which declared itself the oldest inn in Herefordshire. I can certainly recommend the Steak & Wild Mushroom Pie - it was delicious!. On the way back to the hotel stopping to have a look at Bredwardine Church.On Sunday, we started the day at Brecon, then headed in completely the other direction to Bromyard the other side of Hereford. Whilst not an obvious choice for those on holiday, it is the birth place, according to the 1901 Census of Stuart's paternal great grandmother.As we were so near, it seemed a shame not to visit and see the chuch and have a quick wander round. We did head back to Hay, and consumed a lovely ice cream from Shepherds, ice cream parlour. We ate on Sunday evening at a lovely resturant outside of Hereford, called The Bay Horse on the Kings Acre Road. The meal and the venue were delightful, and are highly recommended.

Monday once more, I headed for the bookshops. We managed to complete the rest and left to return home late afternoon.

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About Me

I am a Surrey girl, who is very proud of her roots, which go back almost 300 years in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. I currently live in the West Country of England, but Surrey is always home! I am also half Italian and thus have an interest in Italian culture and genealogy.

After a career in pharmacy management spanning more than 20 years, I made the decision to look at my options as to where my professional life was heading. I wanted to expand my work portfolio within the training and writing arena; to utilise my historical and research skills along with other qualifications and years of experience. I created The Book of Me, Written by You back in the Autumn of 2012. It threads together the focus of my interests and qualifications. Enabling me to encourage others to think beyond the obvious as we analyse our own lives and those of our close family members.

Copyright

The material, both written and photographic on these pages is the copyright of Julie Goucher & Anglers Rest unless stated. Material on this site may be used for personal reference only. If you wish to use any of the material on this site for other means, please seek the written permission of Julie Goucher & Anglers Rest.